There's a new 'female-friendly' restaurant in Virginia — here's what it's like

Matchbox American Kitchen + Spirit spicy tuna tartare tacos.
Matchbox American Kitchen + Spirit
A new restaurant in Virginia is hoping to attract a market that makes up 51% of the US: women.

A Matchbox American Kitchen + Spirit location in Ashburn, Virginia, that opened earlier this week is being touted as "female-friendly" by Matchbox Food Group CEO Ty Neal, reports Northern Virginia Magazine.

The aspects of "Matchbox 2.0" intended to appeal to women include more health-conscious options and specialty salads. The portions are also smaller.

According to Neal, the new location will have the best bar Matchbox Food Group has ever built. It also has an open kitchen, with a modern design that the Northern Virginia Magazine says is "much like the trendy lofts millennials crave with exposed ductwork."

Matchbox is known for its pizzas and burgers, though the new location has a number of new trendy offerings (perhaps attempting to appeal to female clientele), including spicy tuna tartare, beet and burrata salad, and whipped ricotta fettuccini.

STK

Matchbox is far from the first restaurant attempting to attract female customers in a slightly ham-fisted manner.

A huge part of the business model of steakhouses STK and Eva Longoria's shuttered SHe has been marketing food traditionally associated with male customers to women. While it clearly didn't work out well with SHe, which labeled steaks He-Cuts, She-Cuts, and We-Cuts, STKs today has about a dozen locations around the world.